Guwahati, 23rd May: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has lauded the Kolkata High Court’s decision to invalidate the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government’s Muslim reservation policy, describing it as a significant blow to both the INDI alliance and the TMC.
In a statement, Sarma hailed the court’s verdict as yet another proof of the INDI alliance’s disregard for the constitution. He emphasized the inherent injustice of religious-based reservations, stating that they pose a grave threat to marginalized communities such as backward classes, Dalits, and tribal populations.
Sarma condemned what he perceived as the pursuit of vote bank politics by the TMC, Congress, and their allies, likening it to principles reminiscent of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan.
Asserting the BJP’s stance against religious-based reservations, Sarma pledged to uphold the secular ideals enshrined in the Indian Constitution. He rallied public support, declaring that the people of the nation would deliver a powerful message to these “arrogant parties” in forthcoming elections.
The Kolkata High Court’s judgment, delivered on Wednesday, dealt a significant blow to the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the midst of ongoing general elections. The court invalidated Other Backward Classes (OBCs) certificates awarded to 77 communities since 2010, a majority of them Muslim, citing illegal classification processes.
However, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her refusal to accept the judgment, while Union Home Minister Amit Shah accused the Bengal government of appeasement. Approximately 500,000 people are expected to be affected by the verdict.
The court’s division bench of justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Rajasekhar Mantha remarked that the selection of 77 classes of Muslims as Backward was an affront to the Muslim community as a whole, suggesting that the community had been treated as a commodity for political ends.
Furthermore, the judgment highlighted concerns that such reservations could leave communities at the mercy of political establishments, potentially undermining democratic principles and the Indian Constitution.
The court’s decision also struck down key sections of a 2012 law that subclassified the OBC pool. Of the 77 communities affected, 42 were designated for OBC status by the former Left Front government in 2010, with the remainder added by the TMC government in 2012.